Aug. 24 (UPI) — U.S. markets rose slightly on Tuesday while shares of GameStop surged amid a resurgence of so-called “meme stocks.”
The S&P 500 rose 0.15% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.52% as both indexes hit record highs for the second consecutive day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the day up 32.19 points, or 0.091%.
GameStop stock shot up 27.56% in afternoon trading marking its largest one-day gain since 52.7% on March 25 and its first double-digit increase since gaining 10.2% on July 20.
The company did not share any new press releases Tuesday and has not filed anything with the Securities and Exchange Commission in more than a month.
The rise came along with gains in other meme stocks that have been targeted by traders in online communities such as Reddit with AMC stock rising 20.44% its largest rally since 24.5% on July 20.
Shares of Chinese stocks also rose Tuesday as the SEC said it plans to demand U.S.-traded Chinese companies disclose their political and regulatory risks to investors.
Pinduoduo stock rose 22.25%, JD.com stock gained 14.44%, Tencent Music Entertainment Group increased 12.75% and DiDi Global stock closed the day up 12.84% following the news.
“There is follow through on dip buying in Chinese tech after several firms reiterated buys on the stocks, but the jury is still out on whether there’s more pain to come on further government crackdowns in this sector,” Jamie Cox, managing partner for Harris Financial Group, said.
Stocks rose to start the week after the Food and Drug Administration granted Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine but vaccine stocks retreated Tuesday as Pfizer fell 3.1%, BioNTech dropped 3.64% and Moderna fell 4.12%.
Investors are also awaiting Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at the annual central banking event in Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Thursday while awaiting news on how the Fed will taper its bond-buying program.
